11-14 September ISARC05: Int'l Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction. Ferrara Italy.

2. Imminent Deadlines

MEMS2006 Istanbul, Turkey January 22-26. Submissions Due: AUGUST 16.

ICRA2006, Orlando FL, USA. May 15-19. Submission Due: September 16. NOTE: Major changes have been made in the submissions process this year. See www.ieee2006.org BEFORE preparing your submission. The submissions website is now open.

3. RAS Adcom Nominations; Due August 15!

See www.ieee.org/ras for details! If you are interested in serving on AdCom, contact Paolo Dario, Nominations Chair, dario@mail-arts.sssup.it. Candidates included on the ballot for vote by the RAS membership include those chosen by the Nominations Committee and any RAS member (Associate level or above) who submits a petition with 25 or more qualified signatures (IEEE member numbers are required).

4. RAS needs you!

Our Call for Volunteers is still going on. See www.ieee.org/ras for ways you can participate in the activities of RAS and send us an email with your interests (conferences, technical committees, student activities,etc.), your technical interests and a copy of your resume.

5. Call for Nominations

Chair, IEEE Robotics and Automation Student Activities Committee. All applications are due by September 20, 2005.

6. ICRA 2006 Special Paper Category

Undergraduate/Masters Student Education Papers: Experiments, tools, and ideas related to improving education and training of students in R&A.

7. RIA Announces New Robotics Research Equipment Award (Applications Due August 15)

Universities and technical institutions conducting robotics research are now eligible to apply for the new Robotics Research Equipment Award sponsored by Robotic Industries Association (RIA). One or more universities or technical institutions, selected by a panel of RIA members, will receive new and/or used robots plus accessory equipment for 24 months in order to conduct research on topics of interest to the RIA membership. For more information, contact Jeffrey Burnstein, burnstein@robotic or call 734/994-6088.

The IEEE Transactions on Robotics now also considers multimedia material (typically, videos) accompanying the submission of a paper. The Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering and Robotics and Automation Magazine will begin accepting multi-media files in the near future. See www.ieee.org/t-ro for submission details.

9. George Bekey to Receive 2006 IEEE R&A Technical Field Award

Professor George Bekey has been named the third recipient of the IEEE R&A Technical Field Award for contributions to research and education in biologically inspired and intelligent robots. Bekey, who is emeritus professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Southern California, was a founding member of the Robotics and Automation Society, founding editor-in-chief of its Transactions, society president in 1996-98, and is a current member of the administrative committee. The IEEE TFA award is the latest in a long string of the most prestigious awards offered in research and academe which Bekey has received, including Fellow of the IEEE, Member of the National Academy of Engineering, and Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science.